MADRAS, 13 November 2004 — A top Hindu cleric has been arrested in southern India over his alleged involvement in the slaying of a worker at a local temple, police said yesterday.
Jayendra Saraswati, was taken into custody by police late Thursday night in Andhra Pradesh state while he was attending a religious function, said K. Dumas, additional superintendent of police.
Police flew from Madras to Hyderabad in southern state of Andhra Pradesh late Thursday to arrest Saraswati in connection with the killing in September of Thiru Sankararaman, a once-close aide of the leader who fell out with him last year.
The 71-year-old was then flown to the town of Kanchipuram, 70 km from Madras, in southern Tamil Nadu province, and appeared before a magistrate who ordered he be detained pending trial.
Court officials said the religious leader did not seek bail and smiled while being escorted to an armored vehicle which took him to a high-security prison.
Kanchipuram police chief C. Premkumar said Saraswati had been charged with first degree murder and criminal conspiracy.
“Already 14 people have been arrested in connection with the murder, including two on Oct. 9, and following their questioning it has come to light the pontiff played an important role in the murder,” Premkumar said.
“Several documents and details of bank transactions have been recovered which link the crime to the pontiff.”
The temple official was hacked him to death in his office in Kanchipuram on Sept. 3 and police have alleged the murderers were contract killers hired by Saraswati.
Known popularly as the Seer of Kanchi, Saraswati heads the largest of the four seats of Hinduism and is the most respected religious leader in the Hindu diaspora.
He heads the 2,500-year-old Kanchipuram Temple and last year national leaders including President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam attended celebrations marking the golden jubilee of his ascendancy to the top post.
Hard-line Hindu groups have condemned his arrest. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad described the arrest “an onslaught on Hindus.” VHP also accused the center and governments of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu of hatching a conspiracy and announced a countrywide protest for two days beginning today.
“This is politics of revenge to muffle the voice of Hindus in India,” VHP general secretary Praveen Togadia said.
“With the arrest of the great pontiff the authorities have declared open war on the Hindu religion. We oppose this arrest and now every Indian citizen, including children, will rise and give a befitting reply,” Togadia threatened.
“It is most unfortunate that the Tamil Nadu government should resort to a midnight arrest and humiliate the pontiff in this manner,” said L. Ganeshan, secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Condemning Saraswati’s arrest the Rashtriya Swamsewak Sangh (RSS) asked the Tamil Nadu government to secure his immediate release from the jail.
“We condemn the arrest. There was no need to arrest him. He would have fully cooperated with the investigating agencies,” RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said.
Home Minister Shivraj Patil, meanwhile, told Hindi news channel Aaj Tak that he would seek a report from the Tamil Nadu government on the circumstances leading to Saraswati’s detention on the day of the Hindu festival of Diwali.
The ruling Congress party’s spokesman Abishekh Singhvi described the detention as “unfortunate.”
“But then no one is above law and if they are true then he has to face them. It is indeed tragic for the society that a man like him who has such great following has to face this ignominy,” Singhvi said. (Additional input from agencies.)
